ONE manager was "pleased to make the nation happy".
The other offered his resignation to his national president.
The aftermath of last night's Group A World Cup qualifying group saw Gordon Strachan reluctantly accept plaudits as Scotland beat Croatia 2-0 to finish fourth in the table. His counterpart, Igor Stimac, has taken his team to the play-offs but must wait to see if he will manage the team in matches that could take his country to the finals in Rio de Janeiro.
Stimac, battered by criticism in the build-up to the match and pilloried by the Croatian fans throughout, told Davor Suker, his federation president, that he was prepared to resign. A decision on whether to accept this will be made at a meeting today.
"I want to show certain morals, certain responsibility and if there is anyone who does not believe in my work in the Croatian football federation I want to give them the chance to change something now," said Stimac, who believes he has been treated unfairly given what he has achieved.
He described Strachan "as the right man in the right place", a verdict supported by the Scotland fans in the 31,000 crowd who watched Robert Snodgrass and Steven Naismith score the goals that saw the national side complete a win double over Croatia.
Strachan, tempering the joy that shook the stadium at the end of the match, said: "It's been an enjoyable week, but hard work. When you put that hard work in it's nice to get a performance and a win. The players have gradually turned it round. They should be proud of themselves."
The match ended with the Tartan Army giving a rousing rendition of Flower of Scotland. "It was good when the fans sang at the end. When you are Scotland manager you want to make the nation happy," he said.
He was in typical Strachan form when addressing Snodgrass, who only joined the squad after witnessing the birth of his daughter, Leonie. "I need to watch what I'm saying so that I don't get called a sexist, but I think she did all the work," he said of the forward's efforts to meet up with the team.
He added: "Snodgrass did well in an unusual role. We were short of attacking bodies and strength in forward positions and he did okay. He scored a wonderful goal, hit the post and did a lot of good things."
But he reserved his strongest praise for a "terrific" Naismith. "He's not the world's greatest player, but he has a big heart and he does things to bring others players into it. He makes team-mates better. He gets the game up the pitch, he wins headers, he takes fouls and works incredibly hard," said the manager.
Of the long-term significance of the victory, Strachan said: "The home win has no real importance, but it makes you happy for a month."
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